Peak Tower

No trip to Hong Kong would be complete without a visit to Victoria Peak, where you take part in the one of the most touristy sites — The Peak Tower. But what appears the norm for several locals are the scenic hiking trails around Victoria Peak, which are free.
The Peak Tower offers shopping, overpriced restaurants, and both modern and cultural entertainment (eg Madame Tussauds and The Peak Tram, respectively). If you’ve visited other Madame Tussauds around the world, I’d skip this one; it’s just a bunch of waxed celebrities. However, the Peak Tower being «the most iconic landmark in HK» means it’s a must-​visit, especially the Sky Terrace 428 for $ 48 HKD, where you experience stunning 360° views of HK central and Kowloon across the harbor, as well as outlying islands such as Lantau and Lamma Islands.
There are several modes of transportation to get to/​from Victoria Peak. The best experience is The Peak Tram, though queue is very long. The quickest method is via taxi or the bus. And of course the most strenuous one is hiking up from the base. There’s no best time to visit The Peak, due to fickle weather and crowds, but it is central landmark worth one visit.

Be prepared to stand in line for quite some time. However, I do think it was worth it (just don’t choose a cloudy day). The view was amazing. Unfortunately we’re there in August and the weather wasn’t on our side!

There are two things I don’t really feel right about the Peak Tower.
First is the design. I didn’t like the current one, compared to the old one about a decade ago. It feels small, and indeed it IS small, but the orientation or the floor plan makes it like even 50% smaller. I understand that they have Madame Tussauds and Bubba Gump, which both occupy quite a bit of space. But still, Peak Tower gives me a very uneasy feeling of being exceptionally small.
Second thing is being utterly touristy. I mean, yeah it happens all over the world, and Hong Kong is becoming as touristy as it possibly can anyway. But still, if I’m a tourist and I come to the Peak, would I even be interested to buy these overpriced stuff? I’m sure there is a one to sell stuff to tourists without being overly cheesy.
There is a perk of being touristy though. You have to pay to the rooftop of the Peak Tower, and it stops probably ¹⁄₃ of the crowd. Then again, there are free spots on the Peak you can enjoy the view too, but this is pretty unique that you can see the view of the harbor (north) and Pokfulam (south).

You can’t visit Hong Kong without coming here. The view itself is amazing and makes the whole experience totally worth it. I would recommend arriving at least 2 hours before sunset to get a good spot if you want good photos or else you’ll be reaching over people trying to take a nice photo.
If you don’t like to be around a lot of people then this isn’t the place for you because it gets really crowded up there.

A definite must do when in HK. Where else can you overlook all of HK island and Kowloon? The way to get up is through the peak tramway, which is another experience in itself. The best time to come visit is about an hour or two before sunset so you can catch the view while there is still daylight, then walk around looking at the specialty shops and/​or do some shopping before coming back out to catch the breathtaking view at night with the HK skyline all lit up.
Do note that there are some rude people who will push and shove or even step on you to get a good picture of the view, so be aware of that. I swear they get so close to you that you’ll feel their hot ass breath as you’re trying to get a decent picture yourself.